RJA #8a: Quotation, Paraphrase, and Summary

This study investigated the relationship between violent video games and children's mood. A total of 71 children aged 8 to 12 years played a paper-and-pencil game, a nonviolent video game, and a violent video game. Results indicate that arousal, as measured by heart rate and self-reported arousal, increased significantly after playing the violent video game, as compared with the other two game conditions, with girls reporting more arousal than did boys. There was no significant increase in aggressive mood scores for either boys or girls after playing the violent game. Positive mood, as measured by positive affect, showed no significant increases or decreases after playing either video game. However, positive mood, as measured by general mood, showed a significant increase after playing the violent game for both boys and girls, but only as compared with the paper-and-pencil game. Results are interpreted in terms of social learning and cognitive information processing theories of aggression.



http://www3.interscience.wiley.com/journal/119017627/abstract?CRETRY=1&SRETRY=0





Quotation



Since the increase of violence in schools there has been many studies done trying to find out what stimuli or experiences are causing our children to become more violent. Such areas including video games, movies, and television programs have been targeted as causing desensitization among our youth. There has been outcry that there needs to be more limitations, harsher ratings and perhaps even censoring of such multimedia. According to a study done by the Centre for Applied Psychology University of Canberra Canberra, Australia, "There was no significant increase in aggressive mood scores for either boys or girls after playing the violent game."





Paraphrase



A study was done investigating the relationship between a child's mood and violent video games. The group consisted of 71 children ranging in ages from 8-12 years old participating in a pencil-and-paper game, a non-violent video game and a violent video game. Based on the arousal, measured by their heart rate and self-reported arousal, there was a significant increase after playing the violent video game as compared to the other two activities, with the girls reporting higher levels of arousal than the boys. However there was no increase in aggressive mood for either the boys or girls after playing the violent video game, and there was also no increase in positive mood for either after playing the pencil-and-paper game or the non-violent video game. There was a significant increase though in positive mood after playing the violent video game compared to the general mood after playing the pencil-and-paper game. These results are all based on terms of social learning and cognitive information processing theories of aggression.



Summary



According to a study done on children ranging in ages from 8-12, it was shown that a child's aggressive behavior does not increase after playing a violent video game. It does show however that compared to a pencil-and-paper game the child's mood is effected positively by playing a violent video game.